Stand My Ground
by Macbeth2
Summary: After the battle of the burning plains in Eldest, Eragon and Murtagh contemplate on their situations.implied Slash!Incest! Don't know where to go from there,need suggestions. PLEASE R&R! Rating for implications and slight languege.
1. I Will Fight

**A/N: I've only ever done Harry Potter fanfics, and one of my other loves is Eragon, so I thought I would do this little story. These are Eragon's thoughts while he is resting after the Battle of the Burning Plains at the end of Eldest. The battle where he found out that Murtagh had betrayed him. This is only the first chapter, there will be at least one more on Murtagh, and if you people review, maybe there will be more! So please review.**

**The song is called "Stand My Ground" by Within Temptation and I love this song. I think it works perfectly for my purposes.**

**!!WARNING!!: There is slight slash, but not actively, just internal feelings, so that means that there is incest. And some language. If you don't like slash, it was in the summery, so why are you reading this? And yes, I know they are brothers, but it is hard for me to see them that way, so if you don't like it, than don't read it.**

**Oh, and by the way, "**_words_**" means Saphira is talking, and "words" think Eragon is thinking.**

* * *

All Eragon felt like doing was hiding; he couldn't believe his best friend, no, brother would do this to him. As he lay in his new sleeping quarters in the capital of Surda, he decided that he hated war, and would avoid it as much as possible. 

"_You know you can't just drop out of this war, Eragon, it isn't that easy. I know you are hurt, little one, but everything will turn out okay, you know that,_" Saphira inturrupted his private thoughts. She meant well, he knew that, but she wasn't helping!

"You know, Saphira, you aren't helping! I know that, but I don't think I could face him in battle again!" he replied angrily.

"_I know, little one, I know,_" Saphira comforted.

* * *

Later that night, as Eragon lay in his unfamiliar bed, somehow missing the great trees of the elf kingdom, he felt as if nothing in his life was right, especially because nothing was happening. He felt things. Things he thought he had put behind him, and those feelings were killing him, haunting him constantly. He had worked so hard to move on, to not feel such disgusting things for a friend, a **male** friend, no less. No, now he was his brother, and felt even more wrong. He knew he shouldn't feel so heartbroken, but he couldn't help it, and the soft humming coming from Saphira, and her wing protecting him, was only small comfort. 

_I Can See_  
_When You Stay Low  
Nothing Happens  
Does It Feel Right?  
Late At Night  
Things I Thought I'd Put Behind Me  
Haunt My Mind_

He knew there was no escaping this; this war, these feelings, but Gods did he want to. For some reason, the Gods had set their eyes on him, and he knew he couldn't deny his destiny, as corny as that sounds. He was destined to be a hero, a protecter, and maybe even a martyr, but he wasn't ready for this. Even so, he wouldn't run, he would stare he fate in the eyes, and not back down.

He was interrupted from his thoughts by Saphira. "_That's a great attitude, Eragon. It's also a very different attitude from the one you had a few months ago. I'm proud of you._"

"Thank you Saphira," Eragon replied.

_I Just Know There's No Escape Now  
Once It Sets It's Eyes On You  
But I Wont Run  
Have To Stare It In The Eyes_

But now, with this knowledge, Eragon realized it might be easier to get over him, and thus be stronger. He just wished he could be normal, not such a freak. A freak who, besides all the horrible stuff he had just found out, still had disgusting, unnatural feelings for a brother he didn't know he had. Why? Why now? Why not before, before he had fallen in love?

"Eragon? Are you alright? Lady Nasuada wishes to see you," Arya said, not unkindly. She had acted surprisingly normal to him, regardless of his advances on her. **She knows**, he realized, that's why we're able to remain friends. Somehow, this didn't shock him, didn't scare him. Oromis had told him that elves knew love was just love, no matter for which gender. He scoffed at the prospect.

Eragon startled himself out of his personal thoughts and followed Arya to his mistress' tent. He looked out the surroundings of the battle, and smelled the smoke that this plain was famous for. But now the Burning Plains was the Bleeding Plains as well, for as Eragon looked out at the field, he saw red, wet ground, the soil soaked in the blood of the fallen.

They soon arrived at the desired tent, and as Eragon entered, he felt more than one set of eyes upon him. He avoided their no doubt suspicious gazes. He was the son of Morzan, how could they trust him now.

"**Saphira! I need you with me; not in body, but spirit. They're going to interragate me," **he yelled to his dragon, his best friend, and his other half nervously. She responded with a comforting hum and her infinate presence in their shared conciousness'.

"I suppose you know why you are here Eragon. We need to search your mind; you have been very helpful for us, but you are the son of Morzan, the Forsworn, and you have to prove yourself. We are here to help you do that," Lady Nasuada tried to reassure calmly, but he could here the distaste in his voice. She knew this was unneccesary, but it was regulation. They had to.

Eragon nodded, and as Trianna painfully probed his mind, he reluctantly let her to most of his thoughts, blocking those ones on Murtagh. They couldn't see those.

"He is clear. I see no treacherous thoughts. Of course, naturally there is a part of his mind blocked off," the magician said regretfully.

"You can't see that!! Those are my thoughts about my _brother_," he spat the word, as if it were the worst curse he could utter. All of a sudden, their faces relaxed. They understood his obvious anguish.

"I want to kill him!! I want to kill him for getting me attached to him, to see him as one of my few best friends, and then betraying me like that. It's time I took an active role in this war Lady Nasuada!! There are a lot of people who died in this battle, Hrothgar for example, that I need to avenge. And I need to protect my cousin and the rest of Carvahall. I need to start standing my ground. I refuse to give in!" Eragon bellowed, finally letting go all the sadness, hurt, and anger that had been simmering inside him since he realised it was Murtagh on the red dragon.

"_Easy, little one,_" Saphira cautioned.

Once he was dismissed to his tent, he decided he needed to face the truth. He would need to kill Murtagh, or let all the Varden be destroyed by him and his master. There was no more denying, and Eragon hated lying to himself. There was still one more egg left, and if Eragon didn't make it, he was sure, sometime, somehow, that egg would produce a hero for the Varden. The Gods must know that Galbatorix didn't deserve to be in power. He knew that if he didn't make it, someone else must take up the torch. It was only fair.

_Stand my ground, I won't give in  
No more denying, I've got to face it  
Won't close my eyes and hide the truth inside  
If I don't make it, someone else will  
Stand my ground_

* * *

The next morning and more mornings following, Eragon could see the hope on the people still camping on the recent battle ground; he could see it in their eyes. His duty was all around him, and he could feel it getting closer, whatever it was, and it was bad. He knew that much. As he was walking, wandering, he found himself upon the makeshift sparring ground. He knew few would be willing to take him, and as he reached for the place he alway put the sheaf for his sword, he realised that Murtagh had taken it. He turned on the spot and ran, blindly, for Nasuada's tent.

"Lady! I have no sword! Murtagh took it from me after the battle, just as it was ending. He said the eldest son should have it, not the youngest. As if anyone could be proud to be Morzan's eldest son," Eragon quickly, easily, got lost in his anger, and Nasuada waited patiently for him to finish his short brooding before addressing him.

"You shall have a sword, Eragon, although not nearly as good as Zarroc. Take your pick of the prisoner's swords," she said calmly. As she saw the expected frustration cross the rider's face, she asked him with her eyes if a sword that wasn't invincable was better than no sword of all. And she watched, amused, as Eragon, grumbling, tried the confiscated swords out for size. He chose one that was like Zarroc in length, and weight, if not strenth.

"**I can't win a battle against Galbatorix or Murtagh unless I have a sword made by elves,**" he thought silently to Saphira. He knew he needed a new sword now, but the one person capable of making him a Rider's sword had refused, sickened by the ways one of them had been used.

Eragon realised that this war was real, and it was quickly approaching full scale. It was only a matter of time before Galbatorix himself flew out to meet his opponent. This was civil war, and it was in his world.

_It's all around  
Getting stronger, coming closer  
Into my world_

He stood in the sparring ground, sparring with an elven opponent who had arrived a day to late. Elves and Riders were his only opponents now. Elves, Riders, and Murtagh. He finished, and he looked around him at the awe in the gathered audience's faces, he knew he would always stand his ground.

_All I know for sure is I'm trying  
I will always stand my ground_

* * *

**A/N: Hello, all! Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! And yes, I know I didn't use the entire song, but the rest was very repetative and I didn't want the characters to repeat themselves too often. The next chapter is on Eragon and I promise more angst! I'm not sure where to go from there, so any suggestions are more than welcome from REVIEWS!!**

**Yes, people, the little blue button that every reader sees. Please click it. Tell me you love it, tell me you hate it, tell me what you ate for breakfast, but tell me SOMETHING!! PLEASE!!**


	2. I Will Face It

**A/N: Hello all! I wasn't going to update for a while, but I felt the obligation to when I got more reviews in less than a day than I have on an entire story ever. So, thank you to those of you who did review.**

**This chapter is on Murtagh's thoughts on the whole betrayal situation. The song is "The Heart of Everything" by Within Temptation, I was going to use "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace, but this works much better. This is basically a Murtagh thinking about how guilty he is about the whole situation and the battle, especially with his feelings for his brother, and him thinking about what he can do about it**

**!!!WARNING!!! This chapter (and story) contains mild implied slash and incest, and languege. If this offends you, I suggest you leave this place now, and don't leave me any flames, because I will only mock you. It's in the summary, and I'm putting it here, so don't say I didn't warn you.**

**In this, "**_this_**", means Thorn is talking, and "this" means Murtagh is thinking. "_this_" means Galbatorix is breaching the boundaries of Murtagh's mind, and words that are underlined are Murtagh's dreams.**

* * *

Murtagh plop unceremoniously onto his bed after a long day of magical training with Galbatorix. And all of a sudden, he thought about all the people he would hurt with his new knowledge of all this dark magic. His brother's face dropped into his mind's eye, and he felt tears come to his eyes as he thought about the recent battle. 

"**_Stop thinking guilty thoughts, boy! You are on the right side,_**" Galbatorix pushed into his mind, his mental power as strong as his magical, with what he thought was a comforting statement. It just made Murtagh feel worse, especially when he remember the pain he saw on so many of his former conrade's face. They knew they were going to lose, especially with the dwarf king dead.

With this thought, Murtagh tried desperately to hold back the tears that were already spilling from his eyes. He had killed a creature that was just as intellegent as him, if not more so, because he had never been corrupted. He had killed a creature that so many people revered, counted on, cared about, including his brother. Brother. Murtagh laughed at the idea; Eragon wasn't his brother. Friend, best friend, love even, but not brother. Never brother.

"**Stop! Stop thinking these things about your own blood; they're disgusting!**" Murtagh cursed himself. He hated his thoughts, his dreams, his feelings! They were so wrong.

"_Stop thinking that, Murtagh, these feelings you are having for the younger one, they aren't wrong. Many of the Gods all you humans believe in, they were supposedly mated to their cousins, sisters, and yes, brothers,_" Thorn tried comforting, though he knew it wouldn't work. By this time, Thorn's rider was curled up in a ball on his goose-feather bed, sobbing as if the earth was crumbling. Thorn knew that for Murtagh, it was.

"I fe-feel so h-horrib-ble ab-bout it all, Thorn! All those tears, all that pain, caused by me! All the people I care about!" he choked in between sobs.

"It's all my fault," Thorn heard Murtagh whisper before finally crying himself to sleep, and even though Thorn thought his rider couldn't hear him, he whispered right back.

"_No, it's Galbatorix's,_" he said, and he thought he heard a faint sigh in return.

_For the pain and the sorrow  
Caused by my mistakes  
Won't repent to a mortal  
Whom is all to blame_

Three weeks later, Murtagh was sparring with the best of Galbatorix's army, beating all of them in minutes. He knew he wouldn't make it, so why not train to make sure he could take out as many of his real enemies as possible before he did. He wanted to fight as hard as he could before he finally found freedom again.

As he struck down another unworthy opponent, he imagined he was striking down Galbatorix for the last time. It would never happen; he would be dead long before than. He paused in his practice, completely satisfied with how many people were lying in the field groaning in pain and discomfort. He felt Thorn's comforting presence in his mind, humming happily with the thought of me trying to get up and do things rather than stay in his room and sulk except when sent for.

Murtagh looked around at the audience he had attracted, a mischievous look on his face, as if daring any of them to take him on. He watched satisfied as they all paled and backed up, scared at even the prospect. There was a fire in his heart now, now that his self-pity had given way to fury and need for revenge. Revenge on the people who had done this to him, made him lose his best friend, even first love, if he dared to admit it.

He felt his dragon growl in his mind, warning him about the dark mood in which he was about to descend. And then he felt everything around him chill, a chill that sent shivers running down his spine and the spines of everyone around him. The air went cold, everyone around the circle shuddered, and a disctinct sense that they would never be happy again ran through each and every one of them. Galbatorix had arrived.

As everyone bowed to the self-proclaimed "king" of Alagaesia, Murtagh just stared defiantly into his eyes. He showed his "master" how unafraid he was of him. One day, his face said, I'll get my freedom. It may be in death, but I'll get it, and I'm going to take you down with me, if I can.

He knew Galbatorix knew that there was no way he could hold control of him forever; there would be justice, because you couldn't keep what was inside, truly inside. You can't break true feelings.

_Now I know I won't make it  
There will be a time  
__We'll get back our freedom  
They can't break what's inside_

He stood in front of a huge army of enemies, enemies that didn't know they were his enemies.

"**You are to lead them, boy,**" Galbatorix said mentally, breaching the precious boundaries that Murtagh had erected around his mind. He ground his teeth, uncomfortable with the intrusion, uncomfortable and angry. Within his mind he heard evil laughter, and he knew his master understood how hard his mission would be for him.

EraMurEraMur

And suddenly he was in the Great Plain, He was facing the entire Varden, and every single one of them was staring at him with the utmost hatred, but he was looking for one face in particular. And then he saw him, his brother, his friend, and his love. Eragon. Staring at him with the most hatred anyone had ever had for him.

"I love you, Eragon," Murtagh said desperately, and with shock and despair when he heard his brother utter those fateful words.

"I hate you, Murtagh," Eragon said with disgust...

And Murtagh awoke with a horrid start, awoke with a fierce growling in his ears, and he groaned.

"**Another bad dream. Why are you growling, Thorn?**" Murtagh asked muzzily, his mind still hazy with his unsatisying sleep. Thorn didn't say anything back, just growled again. Louder this time, and with more fierce anger; enough to make the bravest warrior's knees knock, even Murtagh shuddered a bit at the thought of that violent anger being directed at him. He tried to reach the mind of his dragon, desperate for some insight as to why he was so angry, but just came against a brick mental wall.

"_I know you are trying to reach me, hatchling; just let me finish what I'm doing before you ask questions,_" Thorn broke his mental barriers and then closed them right back up again, leaving Murtagh no room to protest. He just sighed and layed back in his bed, impatient for the red dragon to return; he was restless. After laying in bed, he got up, got dressed, and went so far as to tidy up his room when still Thorn was absent.

And then, finally, after about a hour and a half, he saw Thorn come swooping in through the hole that was meant for dragons, looking ready to kill something. As curious as he was as to why Thorn was so angry, his temper still scared him, and he found himself backing against the wall, cowering. But he still looked expectantly at his dragon, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, Murtagh let out a cry of frustration, and again tried to penetrate his dragon's mind.

"**Well? What is it? Why are you so angry?**" Murtagh asked his dragon desperately. Thorn just looked at him, looked at him with such a pitying gaze, it made Murtagh even more worried than he already was. He started fidgeting again, waiting for the red dragon to say something, anything.

"_We are to confront him; Murtagh, we are to kill him. You know who I'm talking about. I'm sorry, I tried to get us out of it, but Galbatorix knows how much it will kill you,_" Thorn said sadly, sadly and desperately. The pity in his eyes increased as Murtagh collapsed onto the bed, the shock of his mission making his knees weak. He let out one dry sob, before going completely silent with shock and despair. An hour, a day, a year could have passed before Murtagh said anything in return, and Thorn found the silence deafening.

"We have to do it. We have to face him; he is the heart of everything. I won't make it, but maybe I can tell Eragon that...Maybe I can explain myself before I let him kill me," Murtagh said triumphantly, with only the hint of regret in his voice at the thought of dying so young. He would face his friend, his brother, his love, and he would try to clear the air before failing in his mission on purpose. Because Eragon was the heart of everything, the heart of Murtagh's mind heart and soul, and he couldn't bear living, or dying, without him knowing that he cared.

_I'll face it cause it's the heart of everything_

_

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_

**A/N: And that's it. I know I didn't do even half the song, but the rest of it couldn't really be used unless I had Murtagh's battle-thing with Eragon in this chapter, and I planned this as a threeshot on purpose, I refuse to change it. I'll update if I get at least two more reviews, or if I come up with a song to do for the next one. If anyone has any ideas for a song, I'd love to hear them.**

**And PLEASE REVIEW!! I need feedback!**


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